Emergency action by the WTO director-general: Global administrative law and the WTO's initial response to the 2008-09 financial crisis

International Organizations Law Review

Volumn 6, Issue 2, 2009, Pages 499-512

  Pauwelyn, Joost ^a   Berman, Ayelet ^a  

^a GRADUATE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES   (Switzerland)

Author keywords

Emergency; Financial crisis; Global administrative law; Report to the trade finance review body; Trade finance; WTO director general; Wto secretariat

Indexed keywords

EID: 77952667896     PISSN: 15723739     EISSN: 15718069     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1163/157237409X477671     Document Type: Conference Paper

References (41)

1. JOB(09)/30, 26 March 2009, "Report to the Trade Policy Review Body from the Director-General on the Financial and Economic Crisis and Trade-Related Developments", available at ("Second Monitoring Report"), 3.
2. WT/TF/COH/S/14, 7 May 2009, "Coherence in Global Economic Policy-Making, Report (2008) by the Director-General", 5 ("Coherence Report").
3. "Lamy creates WTO Task Force on Financial Crisis", 14 October 2008, available at ("Task Force brief"); "Lamy warns trade finance situation deteriorating", 18 November 2008, available at ("Trade Finance brief"); WT/WGTDF/W/40, 18 November 2008, Working Group on Trade, Development and Finance, "Expert Group Meeting on Trade Finance - 12 November 2008, Note by the Secretariat" ("First Secretariat Report on Trade Finance Meeting");
4. Coherence Report, see supra note 2, at 1.
5. International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development," Lamy hosts trade finance meeting, will attend G20 summit", available at ; WT/WGTDF/W/44, 23 March 2009, Working Group on Trade, Development and Finance, "Expert Group Meeting on Trade Finance - 18 March 2009, Note by the Secretariat" ("Second Secretariat Report on Trade Finance Meeting").
6. see First Secretariat Report on Trade Finance Meeting, supra note 3; and Second Secretariat Report on Trade Finance Meeting, supra note 4.
7. Trade Finance brief, supra note 3; Task Force brief, supra note 3.
8. Globalization has led to an increased need of cooperation between the WTO and other multilateral institutions, particularly the IMF and the World Bank. The mandate for such cooperation is set out in the agreements under which they have been established and in agreements signed among themselves for mutual cooperation, as well as Ministerial Declarations and Decisions. This is the so-called "coherence mandate". This includes the General Council Decision of November 1996 on Agreements between the WTO, IMF and World Bank; Article III of the Agreement establishing the WTO; the Decision on Achieving Greater Coherence in Global Economic Policymaking; the Declaration on the Contribution of the WTO to Achieving Greater Coherence in Global Economic Policymaking; the Declaration of the Relationship of the WTO with the IMF - all from the Uruguay Round Final Act.
9. Coherence Report, supra note 2, at 6.
10. JOB(09)/2, 23 January 2009, "Report to the Trade Policy Review Body from the Director-General on the Financial and Economic Crisis and Trade-Related Developments", available at ("First Monitoring Report").
11. Second Monitoring Report, supra note 1.
12. The presentation of the First Monitoring Report took place on the 9th of February, 2009. The Director-General presented the Second Monitoring Report on the 14th of April 2009.
13. "Radar picture" is the term used by Director-General Lamy. Although the idea is not to unearth and decide on breaches of the WTO treaty, we cannot resist the remark that the main purpose of "radar pictures" in traffic control is to collect evidence so as to fine speeding conductors ⋯ But see footnote 1 in the First and Second Monitoring Reports, supra notes 9 and 1, respectively: "This is intended to be a purely factual report and is issued under the sole responsibility of the Director-General. It has no legal effect on the rights and obligations of Members, nor does it have any legal implication with respect to the conformity of any measure noted in the report with any WTO Agreement or any provision thereof. This report is also without prejudice to Members' negotiating positions in the Doha Round".
14. "Report to the General Council by Director General Lamy in his role as Chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee", 26 and 27 May 2009, available at .
15. Mr. Lamy himself mentioned in this regard that the purpose of this monitoring exercise is to increase transparency and peer pressure among members so as to preempt a shift towards protectionism. see Pascal Lamy, "We must ensure Aid for Trade promises are kept", 29 May 2009, available at .
16. see .
17. B. Kingsbury et al., "The Emergence of Global Administrative Law", 68:3-4 Law and Contemporary Problems (2005), 15-61, at 20, available at .
18. Kingsbury et al., id., at 43-44.
19. Kingsbury et al., supra note 16, at 37-40.
20. The other two mentioned are: distributed administration conducted by national regulators, and administration by private regulators. see Kingsbury et al. supra note 16, at 20-23.
21. Kingsbury et al., supra note 16, at 43-44.
22. Coherence Report, supra note 2, at 1, 4-6. On the Coherence mandate, see also supra note 7.
23. Task Force brief, supra note 3; "Experts discuss problems of trade finance", 18 November 2008, available at ; First Secretariat Report on Trade Finance Meeting, supra note 3; Second Secretariat Report on Trade Finance Meeting, supra note 4.
24. Paragraph G states: "An annual overview of developments in the international trading environment which are having an impact on the multilateral trading system shall also be undertaken by the [Trade Policy Review Body]. The overview is to be assisted by an annual report by the Director-General setting out major activities of the WTO and highlighting significant policy issues affecting the trading system".
25. Second Monitoring Report, supra note 1, at fn. 1.
26. ; ; .
27. Kingsbury et al. supra note 16, at 37-39.
28. Lamy, supra note 14.
29. First Monitoring Report, supra note 9.
30. Second Monitoring Report, supra note 1.
31. Director-General's Introductory Remarks to the Second Report, 14 April 2009, available at ("DG's Introductory Remarks to the Second Report").
32. First Secretariat Report on Trade Finance Meeting, supra note 3; Second Secretariat Report on Trade Finance Meeting, supra note 4.
33. Kingsbury et al., supra note 16, at 37-38.
34. "The inclusion of any measure in this report or its annexes implies no judgment by the WTO Secretariat on whether or not such measure, or its intent, is protectionist in nature. Moreover, nothing in this report implies any judgment, either direct or indirect, as to the consistency of any measure referred to in the report with the provisions of any WTO Agreement or such measure's relationship to the global financial or economic crises." see Annex 1 of Second Monitoring Report, supra note 1, at fn. 1.
35. "Lamy: 'We must remain extremely vigilant'", 9 February 2009, available at .
36. DG's Introductory Remarks to the Second Report, supra note 30.
37. Ibid.
38. Ibid.
39. Second Monitoring Report, supra note 1, at 3.
40. Kingsbury et al., supra note 16, at 39.
41. Second Monitoring Report, supra note 1, see the Annexes.